Property Rights Foundation of America&REG;
Founded 1994

The Truth about Wolf ReintroductionWhat
the U.S. Can Learn from Russian Wolves

Will N. Graves
AuthorWolves in Russia

Keynote Address

Fifteenth Annual National Conference on
Private Property Rights

Protect Freedom and A Way of Life

Century House, Latham, New York
October 29, 2011

This speech contrasts observations during the past twenty
years with the outcomes that the U.S. Forest Service predicted
before the government restored wolves to Yellowstone. The statements
referenced in this speech are taken from the document Wolves
for Yellowstone? Vol. II, Research and Analysis,
U.S. Forest Service, forwarded to Congress, 1990. (Below, the
U.S. Forest Service statements are in italics. Observations of
the effects of wolf introduction and wolf behavior in other areas
appear in ordinary font.)

Introduction. In 1933, National Park Service policy
stated, No native predator shall be destroyed on account
of its normal utilization of any other park animal. In 1988
the Senate-House Interior Appropriations Committee appropriated
$200,000 for the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to address issues related to restoring wolves to Yellowstone.
They started to gather information, including consultation with
experts on Eurasian wolves. (p. 2-3)

A simulation model of gray wolf recovery for Yellowstone National
Park was developed based on observations of wolf predation in
other areas. Based upon the behavior of this computer model they
reached the following conclusion:

There is no combination of choices where wolf predation
has devastating consequences to elk (Cervus elaphus) populations
in the park. The reason is that the social behavior limits wolf
densities so that the wolf population cannot attain total numbers
high enough to depopulate the elk herd. (Mark S. Boyce, Univ.
of Wyoming, Dept. of Zoology and Physiology, Laramie, WY 82071
(p. 3-5)

My research on Russian wolves showed that when the wolf population
went up, prey population went down.

They concluded that potential conflicts with hunting would
be of no concern:

 it does not appear necessary that wolf predation
requires that hunting opportunities be reduced.
(p. 3-42)

Hunting in an area fifteen miles wide and sixty miles long
north of Yellowstone has been ruined. Wolves have decimated elk
in the area. Outfitting north of Yellowstone has been reduced
by 75 percent. Only three wolves north of Yellowstone can be culled.
(Bill Hoppe, October 25, 2011.)

The Wyoming Guides & Outfitters Association has no official
policy on wolf recovery because there is so much dissension among
its members. Some members say hunting opportunities may decline,
others see benefits from wolf recovery. What could be a higher
quality wilderness experience than to hear wolves howling? (p.
3-48)

The Executive Summary on Potential Impact of a Reintroduced
Wolf Population on the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd states
that the elk population would decrease somewhat, but that the
decrease would not exceed ten percent under the conditions modeled.
The report concluded that if other factors remain within normal
bounds, the relationship between predator and prey would be relatively
stable and could therefore continue indefinitely. (p. 3-61)

Dr. Carbyn (1975, 1983) considered that bull elk are more
vulnerable to predation than cows. (p. 3-115) My research
showed that as a rule wolves killed a higher percentage of cows
and young of various large game species. (The Wolf, Dr.
D. Bibikov, Moscow 1985, pp. 349-350).

Biomass consumption by wolves ranged from 2.0 kg/wolf per day
to 7.2 kg/wolf per day, with an average of 4.4 kg/wolf per day.
They then estimated the number of elk needed by sex and age
to meet the estimated consumption rate. It appears to me the
researchers did not factor in the characteristic of wolves to
surplus kill, sport kill, wantonly kill. (pp. 3-116-117)

Chest heights and foot loading suggest that game animals should
be relatively easy prey for wolves in deep snow or crusted snow
(nast in Russian). This was supported by three Russians (Formosov
1946, Nasimovitch 1955, and Kolenosky 1972). (p. 4-15)

Oosenbrug and Carbyn (1983) reported that solitary bison are
most vulnerable to wolves. They reported that a pack of wolves
killed one bison every eight days in winter, including a high
number of adult males in Wood National Park, Alberta, Canada.
Van Camp (in preparation) reported that a large pack of wolves
killed one bison every seven days in the Slave River lowlands,
and that 86 percent of them were cows or calves. Wolves suppressed
bison recruitment in these lowlands, although hunting, DISEASE,
and severe winters also contributed to the decline. This was
the only time I saw the word disease in this report. (p. 4-18)

Effects of Restoring Wolves on Yellowstone Area Big Game
& Grizzly BearsExecutive Summary, Opinions of Fifteen North
American Experts: If wolves are reintroduced, extinction
of any prey species, elk, mule deer, moose, bison, pronghorn,
bighorn sheep, and mountain goats, was thought to be extremely
unlikely. (p. 4-54)

In 1994 there were 19,760 elk in Yellowstone, in 2010 4,600.
Wolves have decimated many species of wildlife in Yellowstone.
Now there are only about twenty to thirty moose in park. (Bill
Hoppe, October 25, 2011)

The report stated that there should be moderate to little
change in elk behavior and distribution if wolves reintroduced.
(p. 4-56)

Elk now cluster around park buildings. Elk have moved from
mountains to lower levels into hay fields of private ranches.
(My visit to Yellowstone in August 2011, and discussion with Bill
Hoppe on October 25, 2011)

In the Mologo - Sheslshinskil Mezhdurech area the bodies of
63 moose killed in a five year period were examined. Of the 63,
only nine had any defects. Five had defects in teeth, three defects
in antlers, and one defects in its fore and hind hooves. The technical
work done in a controlled area showed that the sanitizing role
of the wolf in nature is overemphasized. (Wolves in Russia,
Will N. Graves, published in 2007, pp. 51-52). In Yakutsk Area
wolves kill many perfectly healthy, fit animals. (Emails from
Yuri Sleptsov)